


Theirs Was Borrowed Time

by fractionallyfoxtrot



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Established Relationship, Implied Sexual Content, In which Gwaine and Leon are young and together in a neighboring land, M/M, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-11
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:33:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24132895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fractionallyfoxtrot/pseuds/fractionallyfoxtrot
Summary: Things you can't do when you fall in love with the son of a lord: be seen together, disclose your relationship... expect to keep him.Gwaine knows to take what he can get.
Relationships: Gwaine/Leon (Merlin)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 39





	Theirs Was Borrowed Time

It was all too easy for Gwaine to access Leon's room.

It was so easy that Gwaine would worry about the safety of the lord and his family, if he was the type of person to worry about such things. He had no concern for nobles and their need to wall themselves off from the rest of the populace in order to feel safe; he cared only for the weaknesses that worked to his advantage. Leon's room was at the end of the hall, in a section of the house overlooking the stables and the garden. It was all too easy for Gwaine to sneak past the horses and scale the vine-covered wall leading to Leon's window.

His actions were well practiced. He'd done it many times before.

Leon's window was open despite the chill in the air. Gwaine was expected and something about the symbolic welcoming made him smile.

He pushed off the last exterior beam and pulled himself into the window, an action which grew easier every season as he grew taller. One foot on the sill was all he needed to step up and into the room. He tried unconsciously to hold himself up as his feet hit the floor, trying to hide any imbalance he felt from any audience he might have. He stumbled, the sleeve of his shirt getting caught on the window latch, but Leon's gaze didn't land on him until after he'd righted himself.

"Close the window," Leon requested.

Leon's voice, although still accented like a noble, was always toned so that his words sounded like requests, not demands. It made it easy for Gwaine to comply, closing and latching the glass pane to keep out the chill.

"Thank you," Leon said, smiling as Gwaine approached his bed.

He pulled back the bed covers, inviting Gwaine to join him. Gwaine slipped out of his boots, their makeshift laces falling once he loosened them, and climbed into the warmth of fine sheets. He put his leg over Leon's, sitting so he could see Leon's face.

"Thanks for leaving it open."

He ran his fingers under Leon's chin, tilting Leon's head up. He watched amusement curl one side of Leon's mouth up higher than the other.

"How else would you get in?"

Gwaine shrugged, confident without knowing the details. "I'd find a way."

Leon's hands found Gwaine's waist, his touch firm and warm, encouraging Gwaine to draw closer to him.

"I don't doubt that for a second," Leon said, barely finishing his sentence before Gwaine pulled their mouths together.

It was all too easy for Gwaine to forget about nobility and classes when they kissed.

He knew those trappings all too well, the social constructs they were born into, stuck in; he knew they didn't cease to exist just because he stopped thinking about them. The world outside Leon's room would never accept what went on within and he knew who'd be blamed if they were found. The fatherless son of a seamstress caught debasing the second son of the town lord; Gwaine could already feel the constraint of the stocks around his wrists and neck. He kissed anyway, kissed through the phantom pain.

He kissed Leon as if every touch was their last. He knew one inevitably would be.

Leon's hands pushed up under his shirt and Gwaine took it off without any regard for the cold night air. He curled forward, burying his hands and face in Leon's clean, soap-scented curls as Leon mouthed at his neck. The feel of Leon's hands, first over and then in his pants, threw Gwaine's head back as a moan escaped his lips, sudden and louder than expected. He caught himself a second later, looking to the closed and locked doors.

"I excused the night guards," Leon said, turning Gwaine's head back with a gentle touch. "No one will hear you."

Gwaine couldn't help his grin. "Is that a challenge?"

"It is unlikely anyone will hear you," Leon clarified. He looked mildly annoyed but Gwaine had become adept at finding the affection in all of Leon's expressions; his eyes gave him away. "As much as I would like to hear you scream my name," Leon said, resting his hand on Gwaine's nape, "some discretion is still required."

Gwaine wondered if Leon could feel the rush of want that heated his skin. He knew no one else who could discuss their desires in such a calm and even tone and it never failed to make him desperate for whatever Leon spoke of. He wanted that. He wanted to be so lost in pleasure that he'd scream Leon's name.

He wanted anything and everything Leon was willing to give him.

"Let them hear," he said, pulling Leon closer to him.

A hand tight on his shoulder kept them apart.

"I will not endanger you any more than I already have."

"You are not a danger to me."

Leon frowned as if he disagreed and Gwaine didn't care for how the expression stressed Leon's features. He moved Leon's hand from his shoulder, holding it to his chest as he closed the space between them.

"Climbing that wall," Gwaine canted his head in the direction of Leon's window, "is more dangerous than you are."

His smile prompted Leon's, the gentle curve of lips calling Gwaine to kiss him.

"And yet," Leon said, his mouth a hairsbreadth away from Gwaine's, "you continue to do it."

"It continues to be worth the risk."

Gwaine felt the pause of Leon's breath, Leon's hands stilling between them, before Leon pushed into the kiss as if he had something to prove. Gwaine pushed back, his hand fisting in Leon's curls as their lips parted and the heats that burned independently within them became one.

He tugged at Leon's nightshirt and the garment, along with his breeches and Leon's smalls, was discarded leaving them naked among the fine sheets. Gwaine's appreciation of soft fabrics against his skin paled in comparison to the feel of Leon's gaze traveling over his body. Leon, who'd probably experienced more fine things than Gwaine would encounter in a lifetime, always looked on him as if he was something of value, something to be treasured.

He almost believed it when he was in Leon's bed.

"What do you want?" Leon asked, pulling his mouth away from what would surely be a mark on Gwaine's neck come morning.

Gwaine looked up at him. Leon's curls fell around his face, his lips parted, his cheeks flushed; it was an image that would sustain him long after Leon's mark faded from his skin.

"Make me scream your name."

Leon moaned, a sound Gwaine felt as much as heard as Leon dragged himself up to cover Gwaine's mouth with his.

In the end, Gwaine came undone with Leon's hands digging into his hips and the bed covers clenched between his teeth to muffle his screams.

Leon pulled the bed covers over them once they were both comfortable, slipping his arm over Gwaine's side as he settled next to him. The quiet moments after were an indulgence; the chances of getting caught increased the longer Gwaine stayed. He let the candle on Leon's bedside table burn out before he broke the all too temporary contentment.

"Has your father decided?"

He could still make out Leon's features in the light from the window. Resignation, only barely masked, fell over Leon's face.

"Yes," Leon sighed. His hand tensed behind Gwaine's back. "Lady Idelle Tremaine of Bronzewood."

A noblewoman with a title and lands: everything Leon deserved. Everything Gwaine wasn't.

"Have you met her?" he asked, unsure as to why he wanted to know.

Leon started to shake his head then frowned. "My father says I have but I can't recall. We traveled to her family's lands once but I was young. I remember little of the trip and nothing of her."

Gwaine ran his fingers under Leon's chin, drawing Leon's eyes to his. He smiled, wanting to see it reflected on Leon's face.

"Do you think she'll be prettier than me?"

Leon smiled, the simple shift of lips lighting up his face. "No one is prettier than you."

Gwaine meant the question as a joke to lighten the mood but Leon's tone carried more conviction than he expected. Leon pulled him closer until their legs were tangled together, their hands caught over their hearts, and brought his hand up to rest on Gwaine's cheek.

Leon continued, holding Gwaine's gaze. "No one means more to me than you."

Gwaine felt the warm assurance of Leon's words, the affection in Leon's eyes promising him that they were true. He might have been out of place, lying in the wrong bed, born to the wrong father, but he was there because Leon wanted him to be. He had nothing but Leon gave him everything, freely and of his own will and heart, even though he was promised to another.

That would always be true. That would always be theirs.

He kissed Leon as Leon kissed him, their touches soft and slow as if their time together wasn't limited

Gwaine tucked his head into Leon's chest as Leon wrapped his arms around him. He couldn't stop from nuzzling into the warm embrace as Leon's fingers carded idly through his hair. He could feel himself starting to fall asleep, the late hour, the soft bed, and the gentle of rhythm of Leon breathing all encouraging him to rest his eyes. He nodded off for a moment or minutes; Gwaine realized he had to leave when he didn't know which it was.

Leon's arms tightened around him as he began to pull away.

"No," Leon whispered, speaking into Gwaine's hair.

"But-"

"I'll wake you before the stable master starts his rounds." Leon kissed Gwaine's hair then bowed his head to look at him. "Stay, please."

Gwaine nodded and Leon pulled him back into his arms, the smile gracing Leon's face the last thing Gwaine saw before he closed his eyes.

It was all too easy for Gwaine to dream that Leon would always be his.


End file.
